What kinds of wild birds primarily carry avian influenza?

Dr. Thomas DeLiberto
National Wildlife Coordinator
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA

The primary species that we are currently trying to sample are those migratory wild bird species that either have come from areas of the world that have highly pathogenic avian influenza or have contact with birds that have been in those regions of the world.  So these birds tend to be the migratory ducks, geese, swans and shore birds. However we’re also sampling resident wild birds, birds that tend to migrate only occasionally or don’t migrate at all. The whole purpose of this sampling effort is to provide an early warning system for the highly pathogenic avian influenza that’s circulating in certain parts of the world. The goal would be then to try and detect entry of this virus into the United States as soon as possible if it did enter the U.S. through the migratory wild birds.